Effects of Ocean Acidification

Corallium rubrum, one of many species of deep-sea coral that are affected by ocean acidification.

Research has shown that the increasing levels of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere and moving into marine systems are causing the world's oceans to become more acidic. Animal species from hard corals to pteropods (delicate, butterfly-like planktonic drifters) to the unseen microbes that fuel ocean productivity and influence the chemical functioning of ocean waters are affected by ocean acidification.

To address the issue, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded 21 grants under the Ocean Acidification theme of its Climate Research Investment. The awards are supported and managed by NSF's Office of Polar Programs and the Directorates for Geosciences and Biological Sciences. Projects will foster research on the nature, extent and effects of ocean acidification on marine environments and organisms in the past, present and future--from tropical systems to icy seas. To learn more about this research, see the NSF press release "NSF Awards Grants to Study Effects of Ocean Acidification."